Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: OzBuzz on October 13, 2011, 06:49:26 pm

Title: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: OzBuzz on October 13, 2011, 06:49:26 pm
G'day Everybody,

Just wondering if someone could recommend a good honey flora book for victoria?

Cheers
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: Mardak on October 14, 2011, 07:18:01 am
I purchased a book off Ebay for about twenty bucks. It came from NSW. A Victorian guy Alan someone I think was his name. A university press publication. Not a real old book but not being published anymore their is still new stock floating around. The guy had worked for DPI or some other state govy dept before publishing the book. Quite a few hundred pages. Has colour photos and lots of botanical crap info. in it, that is probably interesting to someone who wants to know a lot about the botanical crap of Victorian flora...
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: bernsad on October 15, 2011, 12:48:21 am
Have you got any more information there Mardak? A proper title and a full author name please? Was that a one-off on ebay or did the seller have a few?
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: malachii on October 15, 2011, 03:24:44 am
I like this one: http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924003448655#page/n1/mode/2up (http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924003448655#page/n1/mode/2up)

plenty of info and online so I don't lose it!!

malachii
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: Mardak on October 15, 2011, 04:29:06 am

These three are good value -

Honey and Pollen Flora  Alan Clemson

Trees of Victoria and adjoining areas     Leon Costermans

Eucalypts of Victoria and Tasmania       Dean Nicolle
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: Michael Bush on October 15, 2011, 05:38:27 am
Here is all of what Hopkins has to say on the matter:

"XVII. Bee Forage: Bees in Relation to Horticulture and Agriculture
"The native bee forage of Australia and New Zealand differ entirely from each other.  In the former country the various kinds of Eucalypti, and some of the Acacias, form the chief honey-bearing flora from which the greater part of the commercial honey marketed is gathered.  Most of the forest trees indigenous to New Zealand, and there is a great variety, are honey-bearing—some of them remarkably so.  It is a fact, however, that the bulk of the honey gathered from the native flora in both countries does not hit the public taste for table use, I have tasted, what I considered, some very fine honey in Australia, gathered from the Gums (Eucalypti) and it is undeniable that we have equally as fine bush honey in New Zealand, but the fact remains that the demand for it is small as compared with that gathered from white clover. 
"For manufacturing purposes, nothing could be better, as the stronger flavour of the native honey would be more suitable for making up than the milder flavour of clover honey.  At present, unfortunately, we have no extensive factories using honey, consequently there is little demand for it for business undertakings of this nature, and the cost of carriage to Europe for low grade honey is too great to pay the sender. 
"WHITE CLOVER HONEY. 
"There is no room for question that honey gathered from white clover blossoms is the best we know of, and is in the greatest demand the world over.  There is no part of Australasia where white clover flourishes so luxuriantly as it does in most parts of New Zealand, and in some districts clover honey is obtained in its purest condition.  The honey which fetches the highest prices on the European markets is from clover, with a proportion of what is termed “dandelion” honey in it, the latter gives it a more pronounced flavour, and a nearer approach to a bright amber colour, so much desired.  In Chapter V. I have already advised the prospective commercial bee-keeper to choose a good clover district for establishing his business, and this as a rule, is associated with dairying."--Isaac Hopkins, 1911, The Australasian Bee Manual (http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-illustrated-australasian-bee-manual/prod9781614760580.html)
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: vksheilds on October 15, 2011, 06:43:06 am
malachii

I also link that you have shared with us thanks
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: Milo on May 12, 2020, 07:03:51 pm
Resurrected to link for another member

Several publications on the inter-web

Another link to the previously posted seminal work by Beuhne 

https://victoriancollections.net.au/media/collectors/51d110e42162ef12e06aa06b/items/533cc8cb2162ef16dc9438e3/item-media/533cc9e22162ef16dc943fd1/original.pdf

May be of use

https://gcrb.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Flowering-Ecology-of-Honey-Producing.pdf

This one isn?t free but possibly of interest
https://www.tocal.nsw.edu.au/publications/bees/Honey-and-pollen-flora-of-south-eastern-Australia

Eucalyptus identification
https://apps.lucidcentral.org/euclid/identify/key.html
Title: Re: Can anyone recommend a good honey flora book for Victoria?
Post by: KellyBeeFriendly on May 13, 2020, 07:25:52 am
If you want to plant flora

Bee friendly by mark leech. It?s a downloadable PDF. It?s great!

https://www.agrifutures.com.au/wp-content/uploads/publications/12-014.pdf